Facilities for Research
Research Centre & Facilities
Center For Biomedical Research
Biomedical Research (CBR) is a unique center under AVMC wherein a multi-specialty group of scientists work as a cohesive team and carryout active teaching and research. The absence of a formal departmental setup provides an excellent environment where faculties interact with each other freely that enhances better teaching and research in the complementary areas. The emphasis of research investigations is mainly on chemistry and biology and is being carried out in some of the frontline areas of basic and applied biomedical sciences such as Drug Discovery and Drug Development, Medical Biotechnology, Molecular Modeling and DNA Diagnostics, Molecular Oncology, Immunology, Genomics & Proteomics, Medicinal Chemistry, Cancer Genetics, Human Genetics and Neuropharmacology. Within a small span of time, CBR has earned its name and fame both at the National and International level.
To promote scientific discourse among investigators and students, CBR has developed active collaborations with several Institutes such as; Institute of vmnc and other science departments of the AVMC and other research Institutes and Medical Organizations in Puducherry These collaborations have not only benefitted the interacting labs but have also resulted in scientific publications in high impact factor peer reviewed journals.
Center For Plastination
Plastination Laboratory was founded in as a multidisciplinary effort by the Departments of Anatomy, Pathology, Radiology, and Dentistry of the former Medical College of AVMC. The central mission of the laboratory has been to provide plastinated specimens to facilitate education of healthcare students of the University of VMU and undergraduate students of the college and surrounding vicinity. In addition, the laboratory has been instrumental in creating a permanent collection of normal and pathological specimens that are used for study and review.
Specimens produced by plastination are dry and durable. They are easily manipulated and typically retain the natural contours of the specimen. The main goal for using plastinated specimens is to minimize the negative aspects of dissection and handling of biological specimens, which contain formaldehyde and/or phenol. As a result, students’ exposure to hazardous fixatives is reduced.
Within the realm of healthcare education, specimens produced by plastination have an increasingly important role in both the teaching and research aspects of the fields of anatomy and pathology. The importance of accurate, detailed, durable demonstration and study specimens of gross anatomical, neuroanatomical, and gross pathological materials is increasing as the reduction in class contact hours continues.
The use of plastinated specimens is especially beneficial in the education of the non-medical public such as lawyers, college teachers, and non-professional students from grade college through college. The popularity of plastinated specimens is evident by the success of the Student-to Student program of the University of VMU, College of Medicine. Most importantly, however, plastination permits preservation of organs or specimens with unusual morphology or exhibiting a rare disease. These specimens are invaluable assets for museums of anatomy and pathology because they offer the opportunity to educate the future generations of healthcare providers as well as the general public.
Specimens prepared at the Laboratory of Plastination of the University of VMU have been displayed in exhibits in museums across the United States, As early as 1993, we had created a series of plastinated cross-sections of brain specimens and loaned them to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL. The cross-sections are part of the highly-acclaimed exhibit “Imaging: The Tools of Science”.
Centre for Physiology
While physiology looks at the functions of living organisms or parts thereof, pharmacology is dedicated to identifying interactions between living organisms and substances that influence normal or abnormal functions. The work at the Center for Physiology and Pharmacology is therefore dedicated to researching and teaching normal and disrupted functions in healthy or sick organisms and the interactions of the same with molecules, be these medicines or poisons.
Research work is primarily focused on the cardiovascular area and the nervous and sensory systems. Research work ranges from the investigation of molecular structures to the clarification of complex behavioral patterns.
In keeping with the main focuses of their work, there are more than 100 scientific staff at the Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, split between the following institutes/divisions: the Institute of Physiology, Institute of Pharmacology, Institute of Vascular Biology and the Division of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology.
Animal House Facility
A Conventional central animal house facility is available in AVMC for the teaching, training and research facilities and to meet the growing demand for high quality laboratory animals in emergent field of Experimental Pharmacology and medicine. A FELASA trained qualified veterinarian and technical personnel are always at hand to carry out research and keep it in accordance with the standards established by the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA). The CPCSEA approved the facility for Small animal Research for Education purpose.
This Central Animal House facility is a resource center for UG / PG students and faculty of various disciplines in AVMC. It is here that MBBS. and MD/MS . students receive an introduction to animal testing and observation, a vital part of live research. Use of good quality (genetically and microbiologically defined) animals is essential for obtaining reliable and reproducible results in biomedical research and for the production and testing of drugs. Most biomedical institutions, vaccine producing units and pharmaceutical concerns do not have their research and testing facilities. Setting up of an animal facility for production of good quality animals is very costly, time consuming and requires professionally qualified veterinary staffs. It is for this reason that the central animal house facility was established at AVMC at 2019 with the sole aim of promoting the laboratory animal research. Here students will also learn the ethical treatment of animals.
Uniqueness Of The Facility
- The Central Animal House is a centralized facility for bio-medical research by the staff and research scholars of Pharmacology, Medicine, and Dentistry & Biotechnology.
- As per the approval granted by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee the animal experimental studies will be carried out in this facility. Basic facilities for rearing the animals are provided in-house.
- The Central Animal House is a mandatory requirement for the affiliations of Medical Council of India (MCI).
- The experimental animals are bred in the breeding unit and the experiments are conducted in the experimental unit of the Central Animal House.
- After the completion of experiments, the carcass will be disposed as per the norms of Tamil Nadu Waste Management Ltd.
- Suitable animal handling trainings are given by veterinarians to the faculty before commencing the experiments.
